Unlike traditional duck-and-egg education, Montessori is an educational model that places the child at the center of instruction, nurturing the child's individual development in the most respectful way possible.
In Montessori's eyes, educating a child is not just about nurturing his growth, but about accompanying him on his personal journey of discovery and development.
Today, we share with you how to apply the Montessori view of parenting to real life.
Montessori Basics: Becoming a careful observer
Montessori believes that every child needs to observe , to respond to the outside world, to learn, to focus, and even to be left alone.
If someone asked me what makes a good mother, I would not hesitate to tell her: "I am a good mother. I would not hesitate to tell her: "The best mother is the one who does not interrupt. Being a careful observer and not disturbing children easily is what I have been trying to do for more than three years, and it is also the foundation of Montessori parenting.
Observation allows you to read the child's needs and to get to know and understand the child better.
1. Identify your child's precious moments of concentration
I don't know if you have found that children from the moment of birth, in fact, have a "focus". I still remember my baby just three months after birth, often will stare at the ceiling; more than seven months, can hold a chew toy chewed on more than half an hour; more than a year old can be happy to walk around on the floor; to more than two years old, can play alone for 40 or 50 minutes.
I almost became a "bystander" in these behaviors, resisting the urge to tease him when he was dazed; I did not stop him from chewing on toys because they were "dirty"; I did not interfere with him when he played alone.
Children grow in concentration, not in concentration after growth. According to Montessori, try not to interrupt a child who is trying very hard to be engaged, when he is fascinated by an activity, this is the process of building his brain and forming his logical thinking.
When we can recognize a child's precious moments of concentration, we can protect the child's sense of interest and exploration. As Montessori believed: The first path a child discovers should be the path of concentration.
2、Capture your child's sensitive period in time
Become a meticulous observer in order to capture your child's sensitive periods in time. And each of the child's sensitive periods is crucial to the child's growth. Montessori divided the basic sensitive periods into six parts: order sensitive period, motor sensitive period, language sensitive period, sensory sensitive period, detail sensitive period and social sensitive period.
Each of these sensitive periods is a child's call to life, and children need to build themselves in sensitive periods. If we do not find out in time and stop one of the sensitive periods, children will feel physical and mental pain when their inner needs are not met, resulting in emotional reactions such as irritability, irritability, and unpleasantness.
Thanks to Montessori, I finally found the right way to deal with the situation and helped my child to pass the sensitive period smoothly.
3. Respecting the child's rhythm
An important principle in Montessori parenting is to respect the child's rhythm and let it grow naturally. As children grow up, it is inevitable that they will make mistakes and fail to meet their parents' requirements. Such children abound, but if we all truly know how to respect the pace of our children, not to push them, not to rush them, to accept them as they are, to give them respect in the most polite way, to let them feel loved, this unconditional love will allow them to develop fully and grow into their true selves.
4. Provide a suitable home environment for your child
From the time my children were born, I created an orderly and appropriate home environment for them.
By orderly, I have made effective distinctions between all the spaces in the house: sleeping area, eating area, reading area, working area and playing area. As much as possible, I let my child do the corresponding things in each area, and the external order built his internal order.
By appropriate, I concretize the environment according to his growth characteristics, so that he can grow up in a real environment. For example, I will provide some opportunities to do housework and self-care. Let him fiddle with his belongings, let him learn to sweep and wipe the table, teach him to wash vegetables and dishes. Buy some plants back for him to help take care of.
According to Montessori: A three-year-old child must fidget with things for himself. If he is given things made in proportion to his size and allowed to learn to handle them like an adult, his whole personality will become calm and content.
5、Let children return to nature
Nature is always the best classroom for children.
I often take my child into nature: to the beach to play in the sand and water, to the park to get to know the flowers and trees, to climb mountains, to listen to the wind and to watch the rain.
In spring, I take him to feel the beauty of the revival of everything; in summer, I take him to feel the charm of the sun and the beach; in autumn, I take him to the deep mountains to find the layers of colors; in winter, I take him to feel the beauty of the whiteness.
These experiences have made my child a nature-loving and life-loving person.
Montessori once said, "The nobility of man comes from the fact that every man is himself. By preparing a free environment to match the developmental stages of a child's life, the spirit and secrets of the child will spontaneously emerge."
I do not expect my child to become as successful and good as he can be, I only expect him to grow naturally in an environment of love and freedom under the influence of Montessori's view of education and become the person he wants to be.